Going Independent: Part Three

When it comes to recording in the studio, there are a few roles to fill and I'll go through them briefly below. By the end of it, you should be able to get an idea of the roles and how you can do as much as you can as a musician with some recording knowledge.

Recording Engineer
As the title suggest, this engineer records the musical performance in the studio. His/her duties include, placing the artist in suitable areas in the studio, placing microphones and instruments and setting up and balancing levels on the recording console.

Assistant Engineer
In large studios, the Assistant Engineer is usually also the Studio Engineer where they know the ins and outs of the studio layout and set up. He/she will assist the Recording/Mixing Engineer in patching outboard equipment like effects units to the console, setting up the playback, and pretty much gets things done for the Recording/Mixing Engineer so a session can run smoothly.

Pro Tools Engineer
If you read the credits in big budget albums, there usually is a Pro Tools engineer where he/she does all things Pro Tools related. Pro Tools is one of the leading industry standard for recording softwares.

Mixing Engineer
This engineer mixes what has been recorded by balancing levels, applying equalisation and effects to give the songs a good blend between all the instruments and vocals. The mixing engineer could also be the same person who did all the recording.